Adyghe grammar

Adyghe is a polysynthetic language with an ergative verb-final clause structure and rich verb morphology.

Ergative–absolutive

Unlike the majority of languages in the world which follow the Nominative–accusative alignment, Adyghe follows the Ergative–absolutive alignment.

The distinction between syntactic cases is crucial for understanding who is doing the action and to whom. Nouns in Adyghe take the following case roles in a sentence depending on the verb's transitivity:

• <span style="color:#008000">Absolutive case:</span> Marked with the suffix <span style="color:#008000">-р</span> /-r/. It indicates the subject of an intransitive verb or the direct object of a transitive verb.
• <span style="color:#800000">Ergative case:</span> Marked with the suffix <span style="color:#800000">-м</span> /-m/. It indicates the subject (agent) of a transitive verb.
• <span style="color:#0096FF">Oblique case:</span> Also marked with the suffix <span style="color:#0096FF">-м</span> /-m/. It marks the target of the action in bivalent intransitive verbs, functions as the indirect object (dative) in ditransitive verbs, and acts as a locative argument in transitive verbs with prepositional prefixes.

The following basic example demonstrates this ergative–absolutive case marking system:

Here, "table" has the <span style="color:#008000">absolutive case</span> mark -р /-r/ while "man" has the <span style="color:#800000">ergative case</span> mark -м /-m/. We also have the verb "break" in intransitive form "" and transitive form "". In the example above, we specifically used SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) order, but Circassian allows any word order.

Alignment Comparison: Passives and Antipassives

To understand the mirror-image nature of these alignments, it helps to look at how each system reduces a transitive sentence.

In a Nominative-Accusative language like English, the default focus is on the agent. To drop the object, an intransitive verb is used. To drop the agent, the language must use a passive construction.

• Active Transitive: The boy cleans the house.
• Active Intransitive: The boy cleans. (Object dropped)
• Passive Intransitive: The house is being cleaned. (Agent dropped)

In an Ergative-Absolutive language like Adyghe, the focus shifts depending on whether the action involves an object. See the following table comparing transitive, intransitive, and antipassive structures:

This structural symmetry can also be seen with the verb "to write" (тхын). In this case, the antipassive is heavily used, even though the monovalent intransitive form is never used in speech:

Verb Valency and Transitivity Shifts

Because Adyghe verbs are highly inflected, a verb's transitivity dictates the grammatical cases of its arguments. Verbs can fall into strictly monovalent, bivalent, or trivalent categories, or shift between them.

Monovalent Verbs

Monovalent verbs take only a single core argument. Depending on their semantics and morphology, they fall into the following types:

• Active Monovalent Intransitive Verbs
• Antipassive Monovalent Intransitive Verbs

Active Monovalent Intransitive Verbs

Active monovalent verbs are usually strictly monovalent, meaning they do not have transitive variants. Examples include: "to die", "to sit", "to talk", etc. These verbs are always strictly intransitive, and their single argument is in the <span style="color:#008000">absolutive case</span>.

In these verbs, morphologically, the present tense pattern is characterized by the prefix vowel э and the root ending in ы.

Antipassive Monovalent Intransitive Verbs

Unlike active monovalent verbs, antipassive monovalent verbs usually have a bivalent intransitive or transitive variant. In these antipassive verbs, where the default object has been dropped, morphologically, they are marked by a pattern containing a long vowel а and ending in a short э.

To demonstrate how these antipassive verbs adapt when the target of the action is reintroduced, observe the following valency shifts:

• Shift to Bivalent Intransitive: When an oblique target is introduced, the absolutive subject remains the actor, but the verb shifts to its bivalent intransitive form.

• Shift to Bivalent Transitive: When a direct object is introduced, the alignment flips. The actor takes the ergative case, the object takes the absolutive case, and the verb takes its transitive form.

Bivalent Verbs

Bivalent verbs take exactly two core arguments. They are categorized based on how the action is transferred and which grammatical cases they assign:

• Bivalent Intransitive Verbs
• Bivalent Transitive Verbs

Bivalent Intransitive Verbs

There is a group of Circassian verbs that take two arguments but remain grammatically intransitive. Bivalent Intransitive Verbs have the components <span style="color:#008000">Absolutive</span> and <span style="color:#0096FF">Oblique</span>. Examples include: "to hit", "to kiss", "to fight", etc. In this category, the actor takes the <span style="color:#008000">absolutive case (-р)</span>, while the target of the action takes the <span style="color:#0096FF">oblique case (-м)</span>, rather than being treated as a direct object.

Bivalent Transitive Verbs

Standard transitive verbs take two core arguments where the action is directly transferred to an object. Bivalent Transitive Verbs have the components <span style="color:#800000">Ergative</span> and <span style="color:#008000">Absolutive</span>. In this case, there is a direct object receiving the action. The subject (agent) takes the <span style="color:#800000">ergative case (-м)</span>, and the direct object takes the <span style="color:#008000">absolutive case (-р)</span>.

Intransitive to Transitive Shifts

Some Circassian monovalent intransitive verbs can be transformed into bivalent transitive verbs. The roles of the original arguments shift depending on the semantic nature of the verb:

• Subject becomes Object: In verbs indicating state or a change of condition, the subject of the intransitive verb becomes the object of the transitive verb. This acts similarly to a causative, where an external agent is causing the state to happen to the object. Other verbs that behave this way are: "to finish", "to seal", "to break", "to destroy", etc.
• &rarr; ("it is being sealed" &rarr; "(s)he seals it")
• &rarr; ("it breaks" &rarr; "(s)he breaks it")

• Subject becomes Agent (Antipassive): In inherently agentive verbs, the subject of the intransitive verb acts as the agent of the transitive verb. This intransitive form functions as an antipassive construction, where the object is dropped and the agent takes the <span style="color:#008000">absolutive case</span>. Other verbs that behave this way are: "to eat", "to sew", "to plow", "to do laundry", "to wash", etc.

Trivalent Ditransitive Verbs

Trivalent verbs take three core arguments, involving an agent, a direct object, and an indirect recipient or target. This category consists of:

• Trivalent Ditransitive Verbs

These verbs require all three components: the <span style="color:#008000">Absolutive</span>, the <span style="color:#800000">Ergative</span>, and the <span style="color:#0096FF">Oblique</span>. They convey actions where a subject transfers a direct object to an indirect object/recipient. Examples include: "to give/pay", etc.

Noun

Singular and plural

A Circassian noun can be in one of two states: singular or plural.

Singular nouns carry a zero morpheme (no prefixes or suffixes), while plural nouns use the suffix -хэ (-xa), which is attached to the stem. For example:

• Singular: "house", "book".
• Plural: "houses", "books".

Circassian verbs also mark plurality, but they use different morphemes compared to nouns. Verbs use the prefix -а- (before the root) or the suffix -х- (after the root) to indicate plural arguments. For example: "he is going" vs. "they are going"; "he said" vs. "they said".

Definite and indefinite forms

Adyghe nouns differentiate between definite and indefinite forms, similar to the function of articles (the vs. a/an) in English.

• Indefinite: The noun usually has no case suffix (zero marking) or strictly the indefinite suffix. This form is used for generalizations or when the object is unknown to the listener.
• : Example: "a boy" (undefined).
• Definite: The noun takes a specific case marker, usually -р (absolutive) or -м (ergative/oblique). This form is used when the referent is specific or known to the context.
• : Example: or "the boy".

Cases

Adyghe has four noun cases: absolutive, ergative (which also functions as an oblique), instrumental, and adverbial.

Absolutive case

The absolutive case is marked by the suffix -р . It is used for definite nouns in singular and plural forms (e.g., 'the boy', 'the boys', 'the horse').

Syntactically, the absolutive case marks:

1. The Subject of an intransitive verb.
2. The Direct Object of a transitive verb.

• Subject of intransitive verb: In the following example, is the subject of the intransitive verb "went".

• Direct Object of transitive verb: In the following example, is the direct object being acted upon by the subject ().

Ergative-Oblique case

The suffix -м is used for both the Ergative and Oblique cases (e.g., , , ). Its function depends on the transitivity of the verb.

• Ergative role: Marks the Subject (agent) of a transitive verb.

• Oblique role: Marks the Indirect Object or the target of action for both transitive and intransitive verbs.

An example with an intransitive verb "reads" (bivalent):

An example with a transitive verb "gives":

The Oblique case is also used for Adverbial Modifiers of time and place.

• Time: "The students worked during the day."
• Place: "The boys went to the forest."

Instrumental case

The instrumental case expresses instruments (tools/means), direction, or purpose.

• Indefinite nouns take the suffix -кӏэ (e.g., "with a book").
• Definite nouns combine the oblique suffix -м with the instrumental -кӏэ, forming -мкӏэ (e.g., "with the book").

Instrument (Tool):

Purpose/Referral:

Direction:

Adverbial case

The adverbial case is marked by the suffix -эу (e.g., , ). It acts as a predicative complement, often translating to "as X" or indicating a transformation "into X".

Derivation

Adyghe nouns are typically formed through composition (compounding) or suffixation.

Common compound forms include:

• "pheasant" (from "forest" + "chicken")
• "duck" (from "water" + "chicken")
• "agriculture" (from "hay" + "millet")
• "cafeteria" (from "to eat" + "place")

Common derivation suffixes include:

Possession

Possession is a key grammatical feature in Adyghe. Nouns are divided into two distinct categories based on the relationship between the possessor and the possessed:

• Inalienable (Organic) possession: Used for things that cannot be separated from the possessor (body parts, family, intrinsic positions).
• Alienable (Proprietary) possession: Used for transferable property, objects, and concepts.

Inalienable possession

Inalienable possession is marked by a specific set of prefixes attached directly to the noun stem. This category strictly includes:

• Body parts: e.g., head, heart, leg, soul.
• Kinship terms: e.g., mother, brother, daughter.
• Name:
• Part-whole and Spatial relations: Positional words are treated as "body parts" of an object.
• "its under / underside"
• "its inside"
• "its back / behind"
• "its nose / front"
• "its half"

Alienable possession

Alienable possession is used for separable items, such as property, animals, concepts, and material objects. These prefixes differ from the inalienable ones, typically involving the additional vowel -и- (-i-).

Pronouns

In Adyghe, pronouns are categorized into the following groups: personal, demonstrative, possessive, interrogative, determinative/reflexive, and indefinite.

Personal pronouns

Strictly speaking, personal pronouns exist only for the first and second persons.

• 1st Person: "I" (Singular), "we" (Plural).
• 2nd Person: "you" (Singular), "you" (Plural).

To express the third person ("he", "she", "it", "they"), Adyghe uses demonstrative pronouns (see below).

Unlike nouns, 1st and 2nd person pronouns do not distinguish between the Absolutive and Ergative cases. These two cases merge into a common form.

Examples of usage:

• Subject: "I read / I am studying."
• Subject (Transitive): "You are reading the book."
• Subject (Intransitive): "We are going to school."
• Subject (Plural): "You (plural) are working."
• Indirect Object/Beneficiary: "This job is hard for me."

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns are used to point to objects and also function as 3rd person pronouns. They are distinguished by distance:

• Proximal (This): — Used for objects close to the speaker.
• Distal (That): — Used for objects far from the speaker.
• Neutral (That): — Used for objects regardless of distance (or invisible/abstract).

Examples:

• "This house (close) is more beautiful than that house (far) which is being built."
• "Show me that book you bought."

Unlike personal pronouns, demonstrative pronouns do distinguish cases.

The plural forms are created using the -хэ- suffix:

• Absolutive: (These), (Those/They).
• Ergative/Oblique: , .

Possessive pronouns

Independent possessive pronouns express ownership ("Mine", "Yours", "Theirs"). These differ from the possessive prefixes (си-, уи-, etc.) attached to nouns.

• "mine"
• "yours"
• "his / hers / its"
• "ours"
• "yours" (plural)
• "theirs"

Usage examples:

• "This house is mine."
• "These trees are ours."

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions.

• (or ) "who?" — Used for humans.
• (or ) "what?" — Used for non-humans/things.
• "how much / how many?"
• "which?"
• "when?"
• "where?"
• "what kind of?"

Examples:

• "Who said that?"
• "Who entered the house?"
• "What did you see? — I saw a dog."
• "What did you bring?"

Determinative and reflexive pronouns

This group includes reflexive pronouns ("self") and quantifiers ("all", "every").

• "self"
• "all"
• "every / each"
• "personally / himself"
• , "everyone", "any (person)"
• , "everything", "any (thing)"

Examples:

• "Everyone must work without pitying himself."
• "Any job is good if done with a full heart."

Indefinite pronouns

The primary indefinite pronoun in Adyghe is , which corresponds to "someone", "something", "some", or "one". It declines like a noun.

Usage examples:

• "Someone knocked on the door."
• "Someone spoke about this interesting book."

Verbs

Morphology

Adjectives

From a morphological perspective, adjectives in the Circassian language share many characteristics with nouns. A key feature of Circassian grammar is phrase-final affixation: when an adjective modifies a noun, the noun itself remains in its bare stem form. The grammatical markers for number (plurality) and case (role in the sentence) attach to the end of the entire noun phrase—which usually means they attach to the adjective.

Adjectives are categorized into two main types:

• Qualitative adjectives: Describe qualities (e.g., "good", "white", "tall"). These usually follow the noun.
• Relative (Material) adjectives: Describe material or relation (e.g., "wood", "iron"). These usually precede the noun and do not change form.

Phrase-Final Affixation

Unlike in languages like Spanish or Russian where both the noun and adjective agree (change form), in Adyghe, only the last word in the phrase takes the suffix.

Example 1: Qualitative Adjective (Follows Noun) Here, the noun is (girl) and the adjective is (beautiful).

Example 2: Suffixal Adjective (Augmentative) Some adjectives function as suffixes themselves, like (large/big). The case and number markers still attach to the very end.

Declension

When an adjective is used substantively (as a noun, e.g., "the white one"), it takes the standard noun case markers directly.

Example: ("White")

Adjective Position Examples

Usage in Sentences

Comparison

Adjectives have comparative and superlative forms used to express degrees of quality.

Comparative Degree Formed using the auxiliary word (more).

Superlative Degree Formed using the auxiliary word (most/more than all).

Affixes

Various suffixes can be added to nouns and adjectives to modify their meaning (diminutives, augmentatives, intensifiers).

Suffixes for Nouns

Suffixes for Adjectives

Examples

Opinion (Psychological Predicates)

To indicate that a quality is perceived by someone (an opinion or feeling), the prefix (ʃʷʼa~) is added to the adjective. This transforms the adjective into a verbal construction meaning "X is [ADJ] to Y".

• "pretty" → "it is pretty to him/her"
• "tasty" → "it is tasty to him/her"

Scaliness (Abstract Nouns)

The suffix (~ʁa) is appended to adjectives to turn them into abstract nouns representing the measure or quality itself (e.g., "length" from "long").

• (long) → (length)
• (fast) → (speed)
• (hot) → (heat)
• (strong) → (strength)
• (beautiful) → (beauty)

State of the Adjective

The suffix (~ʁaːt͡ʃʼa) forms nouns meaning "the state/essence of being X", which is distinct from the measurable scale marked by ~гъэ.

• (long) → (lengthiness/state of being long)
• (pretty) → (prettiness/state of beauty)

Adverbs

In the Adyghe language, adverbs are categorized into four main groups: adverbs of place, adverbs of time, adverbs of quality (manner), and adverbs of amount (quantity).

Adverbs of Place

These adverbs indicate location or direction.

Examples

Adverbs of Time

These adverbs indicate when an action takes place.

Examples

Adverbs of Amount (Quantity)

These adverbs indicate the degree or quantity of the action or quality.

Examples

Adverbs of Quality (Manner)

Adverbs of manner describe how an action is performed. They are productively formed from qualitative adjectives using the adverbial case suffix (/~aw/).

Examples

Formation of Adverbs

Adverbs can be derived from other parts of speech through several methods:

1. Suffixing (Adverbial Case): Adding to adjectives.
2. * (beautiful) → (beautifully)
3. * (soft) → (softly)
4. * (firm) → (firmly)
5. Concatenating (Compounding): Combining two words.
6. * (tomorrow) + (morning) → (tomorrow morning)
7. * (noon) + (after) → (afternoon)
8. Conversion (Fossilized Cases): Nouns fixed in a specific case functioning as adverbs.
9. * (evening-ERG/OBL) → "in the evening"
10. * (courage-INS) → "forcibly/bravely"

Usage Examples

Contradiction (Rather/Actually)

The word (/naːħ/) functions as an adversative adverb meaning "rather" or "actually." It is used to correct a statement or introduce a contrast to what the listener might believe.

• (he went) → (rather, he went)
• (hard) → (rather, it is hard)
• (boy) → (rather, it is a boy)

Examples

Conjunctions

In English, the word "and" is used to connect various parts of speech. In Adyghe, there are different ways (suffixes) to connect words depending on their part of speech and definiteness.

The independent conjunction /ət͡ʃəj/ ("and") can also be used to connect different parts of speech.

• Verbs: ("The boy reads and writes.")
• Adjectives: ("The boy is handsome and tall.")

Conjunctions in the Circassian language play the same role like in English, they are used to connect together, in different ways, words or parts of a difficult sentence. According to structure of Circassian conjunctions they can be separated into two groups: simple and complex.

Simple conjunctions

Among simple Circassian conjunctions are:

• ыкӏи – "and".
• е – "or".
• ау – "but".

Complex conjunctions

• ау щытми – "however".
• ары шъхьай – "but".
• ащ шъхьакӏэ – "however".
• ары пакӏопышъ – "not only", "but".
• арти – "so".
• армэ (аущтэумэ) – "if so".
• арми (аущтэуми) – "even if so".
• армырмэ – "if not, else, otherwise".
• армырми – "even if not, either way".
• нахь мышӏэми – "despite".
• зэ-зэ – "here-and-there".
• е-е – "either-or".
• сыда пӏомэ – "because".
• ащ къыхэкӏыкӏэ – "due to".
• сыдигъокӏи – "in any case".
• сыдми – "either way".

Particles

Particles in the Circassian language vary in both meaning and structure. Semantically, they are categorized into groups such as affirmative, negative, interrogative, intensive, indicatory, and stimulating.

Usage Examples

Affirmative

• — — ("— Come to us today. — OK.")
• — — ("— Have you understood what I have said? — Yes.")
• ("Certainly, we will go out today and eat.")

Negative

• ("No, no, I don't want a thing.")

Interrogative

• ("When perhaps will the bus come?")

Intensive

• ("Well, Pshimaf, you must keep your word.")
• ("Well, because the boy needs to study he couldn't come out with us.")

Indicatory

• ("This is the car which I have told you about.")

Stimulating

• ("Come on, get out of here quickly!")

Other Interjections and Fillers

Demonstratives

Adyghe has a four-way demonstrative system based on distance and visibility, plus an interrogative form.

Derived Adverbial Forms

Demonstrative stems combine with various suffixes to form adverbs and pronouns related to location, manner, and time.

Postpositions

In the Circassian language, as well as in other Ibero-Caucasian languages, role of prepositions belongs to postpositions. It is difficult to define the exact count of postpositions in the Circassian language, because even such major parts of speech as nouns (from the point of view of their functionality) sometimes can be included into the group, together with some verb prefixes. For example, in the sentence Тхылъыр столым телъ "The book is lying on the table" the noun has no preposition, but the meaning remains clear because in the verb те-лъ "is lying" the prefix те- expresses something's being on a surface, so this form of the verb literally means "on the surface is lying".

Nouns and adverbs sometimes play role of postpositions. For example, nous that describe different parts of human body (head, nose, side and so on) sometimes function as postpositions. For example: Шъузыр лӏым ыпэ итэу кӏощтыгъэ "The wife was going in front of the husband" (the preposition "in front of" in the Circassian sentence is expressed by the phrase ыпэ итэу "being in front of his nose").

Nouns and pronouns combine with a postposition in the ergative grammatical case only. For example, the postposition дэжь "near, beside" requires a word in the ergative case:

• чъыгы-м дэжь "near the tree";
• ныбджэгъу-м пае "for the friend".

Postpositions can attach possessive prefixes to themselves. For example, in singular:

• сэ с-а-дэжь "near me",
• о у-а-дэжь "near you",
• ащ ы-дэжь "near him";

in plural:

• тэ т-а-дэжь "near us",
• шъо шъу-а-дэжь "near you",
• ахэмэ а-дэжь "near them".

The following words are used as postpositions in the Circassian language:

• дэжь "near".
• пае "for".
• пашъхьэ "in front of, before".
• чӏэгъ "under".
• шъхьагъ "above".
• фэдэу "like, similar".
• азыфагу "between".
• гузэгу "middle".
• бгъу "side".
• гупэ "face".
• кӏыб "back".
• къогъу "corner".
• кӏыӏу "surface".
• кӏоцӏы "inside".
• пэ "nose".
• пшъэ "neck".
• ужы "trace".
• нэуж "track".
• чӏыпӏэ "place".

Interrogatives

The suffix ~a /aː/ initials the interrogative particle that indicates a yes-or-no question. For example:

• макӏо "(s)he is going" → макӏуа? "is (s)he going?"
• кӏалэ "boy" → кӏала? "is it a boy?"
• дахэ "beautiful" → даха? "is (s)he beautiful?"

Кӏала ӏаным тесыр? – Is it a boy that sits on the table?

Кӏалэр ӏаным теса? – Is the boy sits on the table?

Кӏалэр ӏана зытесыр? – Is it a table the boy is sits on?

If question is posited to word having the negative suffix ~п (~p), it is converted to suffix ~ба (~baː). The suffix ~ба /baː/ initials the negative interrogative particle. For example:

• макӏо "(s)he is going" → макӏо-ба? "isn't (s)he is going?"
• кӏалэ "boy" → кӏалэ-ба? "isn't it is a boy?"
• дахэ "beautiful" → дахэ-ба? "isn't (s)he is beautiful?"

Кӏалэба ӏаным тесыр? – Isn't it a boy that sits on the table?

Кӏалэр ӏаным тесыба? – Isn't the boy sits on the table?

Кӏалэр ӏанэба зытесыр? – Isn't it a table the boy is sits on?

If question is posited by auxiliary interrogative words:

• хэт (хэта) "who".
• сыд (шъыд) "what/which".
• сыда (шъыда) "why".
• тыдэ "where".
• тхьэпш "how much".
• сыд фэдиз "how much".
• тэущтэу (сыдэущтэу) "how".
• тары "which".
• сыдигъу (шъыдгъо) "when".
• сыдкӏэ (шъыдкӏэ) "with what".
• сыд фэд? "what kind of?".

Syntax

Order of words in a Circassian sentence is, generally, free, but the situation where verb goes at the end is the most typical.

Трактористыр пасэу къэтэджыгъ "The tractor-driver got up early".

Structure of a full sentence is, usually, defined by its form of verb. In the Circassian language there are the following types of sentences:

1. Nominative sentence, where subject is in the absolutive grammatical case, verb is intransitive, and there is no direct object:
2. : Гъатхэ́р къэсыгъ, чъыгхэр къызэӏуихыхэу ригъэжъагъ "Spring has come, the trees have started to bloom";
3. Ergative sentence, where subject is in ergative case, direct object is in absolutive case, and the verb is transitive:
4. : Агрономым губгъохэ́р къыплъахьыгъэх "The agronomist has reviewed the fields";
5. Sentence, where subject is in zero form. In this type of sentences both transitive and intransitive verbs can be used:
6. : Нанэ тхъу къыситыгъ "Mother gave me some butter";
7. : Кӏэлэ тэрэз ащ фэдэу псэурэ́п "A good guy does not behave like that".

This type of Circassian sentences is rarer than the first two. In the Circassian language there are compound sentences that can consist both of independent parts only, and of the main part in combination with dependent subparts.

Compound sentences with independent parts:

Нэф къэшъыгъ, ау цӏыфхэр джыри урамхэм къатехьагъэхэ́п "The morning has already come, but the people have not appeared on the streets yet";

Зэкӏэ́ къалэ́м къикӏыжьыгъэх, ау ежь Ибрахьимэ ӏофхэр иӏэу къэуцугъ "Everybody has returned from the city, but Ibrahim has stayed because of his affairs."

Compound sentences with dependent parts are structurally different. The most typical Circassian compound sentence with a dependent part is the sentence where its dependent part expresses some sort of circumstances explaining the main part:

Мэзэ́ псау́м ащ ӏоф ышӏагъэ́п, сыда пӏомэ дэсыгъэпы́шъ ары́ "He has not worked for the whole month, because he has been away".

Numbers

• Numbers from zero to ten are specific words

0 зиӀ

1 зы

2 тӀу

3 щы

4 плӀы

5 тфы

6 хы

7 блы or

8 и

9 бгъу

10 пшӀы

• Numbers from eleven to nineteen are built with the word for ten, followed by кӀу () and the unit digit:

11 пшӀыкӀуз

12 пшӀыкӀутӀу

13 пшӀыкӀущ

14 пшӀыкӀуплӀ

15 пшӀыкӀутф

16 пшӀыкӀуÑÂ

17 пшӀыкӀубл

18 пшӀыкӀуй

19 пшӀыкӀубгъу

• The tens follow a vigesimal system from forty up, with the exception of fifty:

20 тӀокӀы (20)

21 тӀокӀырэ зырэ (20 and 1)

22 тӀокӀырэ тӀурэ (20 and 2)

23 тӀокӀырэ щырэ (20 and 3)

...

30 щэкӀы (30)

31 щэкӀырэ зырэ (30 and 1)

32 щэкӀырэ тӀурэ (30 and 2)

...

40 тӀокӀитӀу (20 × 2)

41 тӀокӀитӀурэ зырэ (20 × 2 and 1)

42 тӀокӀитӀурэ тӀурэ (20 × 2 and 2)

...

50 шъэныкъо (half-hundred)

51 шъэныкъорэ зырэ (half-hundred and 1)

52 шъэныкъорэ тӀурэ (half-hundred and 2)

...

60 тӀокӀищ (20 × 3)

61 тӀокӀищырэ зырэ (20 × 3 and 1)

62 тӀокӀищырэ тӀурэ (20 × 3 and 2)

...

70 тӀокӀищырэ пшӀырэ (20 × 3 and 10)

71 тӀокӀищырэ пшӀыкӀузырэ (20 × 3 and 11)

72 тӀокӀищырэ пшӀыкӀутӀурэ (20 × 3 and 12)

...

80 тӀокӀиплӀ (20 × 4)

81 тӀокӀиплӀырэ зырэ (20 × 4 and 1)

82 тӀокӀиплӀырэ тӀурэ (20 × 4 and 2)

...

90 тӀокӀиплӀырэ пшӀырэ (20 × 4 and 10)

91 тӀокӀиплӀырэ пшӀыкӀузырэ (20 × 4 and 11)

91 тӀокӀиплӀырэ пшӀыкӀутӀурэ (20 × 4 and 12)

• One hundred is шъэ (ʂa). The hundreds are formed by the hundred word root (шъ (ʂ)) followed by -и- (-i-) and the multiplier digit root.

100 шъэ (ʂa)

101 шъэрэ зырэ (ʂara zəra) (100 and 1)

110 шъэрэ пшӏырэ (ʂara pʃʼəra) (100 and 10)

200 шъитӀу (ʂitʷʼ) (100 × 2)

201 шъитӀурэ зырэ (ʂitʷʼəra zəra) (200 × 2 and 1)

300 шъищ (ʂiɕ) (100 × 3)

400 шъиплӀ (ʂipɬʼ) (100 × 4)

500 шъитф (ʂitf) (100 × 5)

600 шъих (ʂix) (100 × 6)

700 шъибл (ʂibl) (100 × 7)

800 шъий (ʂij) (100 × 8)

900 шъибгъу (ʂibʁʷ) (100 × 9)

• One thousand is мин (min). The thousands are formed by the thousand word root (мин (məjn)) followed by -и- (-i-) and the multiplier digit root.

1000 мин (min)

1001 минрэ зырэ (minra zəra) (1000 and 1)

1010 минрэ пшӏырэ (minra pʃʼəra) (1000 and 10)

1100 минрэ шъэрэ (minra ʂara) (1000 and 100)

2000 минитӀу (minitʷʼ) (1000 × 2)

3000 минищ (miniɕ) (1000 × 3)

4000 миниплӀ (minipɬʼ) (1000 × 4)

5000 минитф (minitf) (1000 × 5)

6000 миних (minix) (1000 × 6)

7000 минибл (minibl) (1000 × 7)

8000 миний (minij) (1000 × 8)

9000 минибгъу (minibʁʷ) (1000 × 9)

10000 минипшӏ (minipʃʼ) (1000 × 10)

11000 минипшӀыкӀуз (minipʃʼəkʷʼəz) (1000 × 11)

12000 минипшӀыкӀутӀу (minipʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼ) (1000 × 12)

20000 минитӀокӀы (minitʷʼat͡ʃə) (1000 × 20)

100000 минишъэ (miniʂa) (1000 × 100)

200000 минишъитӀу (miniʂitʷʼ) (1000 × 200)

When composed, the hundred word takes the -рэ (-ra) suffix, as well as the ten and the unit if any (e.g.:

шъэрэ зырэ (ʂara zəra) [101],<br /> шъэрэ тӀурэ (ʂara tʷʼəra) [102],<br /> шъэрэ пшӀыкӀузырэ (pʃʼəkʷʼətʷʼəra) [111],<br /> шъитӀурэ щэкӀырэ плӀырэ (ʂitʷʼəra ɕat͡ʃəra pɬʼəra) [234]).

• One thousand is мин (min). The other thousands are formed by concatenating the thousand word with -и- (-i-) and the multiplier digit root:

минитӀу (minitʷʼə) [2,000],<br /> минищ (miniɕ) [3,000],<br /> минищ шъэ (miniɕ ʂa) [3,100],<br /> минищ шъитӀу (miniɕ ʂitʷʼə) [3,200],<br /> миниплӀ (minipɬʼ) [4,000],<br /> миниплӀы шъэ (minipɬʼəra ʂa) [4,100],<br /> минишъиплӀтӀу (miniʂipɬʼətʷʼ) [4,200],<br /> минишъиплӀщ (miniʂipɬʼəɕ) [4,300],<br /> минитфы шъэ (minitfə ʂa) [5,100], <br /> минишъитфтӀу (miniʂitfətʷʼ) [5,200]...

When there is a certain amount of the noun, the noun is followed by -и (-i) and the multiplier digit root.

for example:

Зы кӀалэ – One boy (zə t͡ʃaːla),<br /> КӀалитӀу – two boys (t͡ʃaːlitʷʼ),<br /> КӀалиплӏ – four boys (t͡ʃaːlipɬʼ),<br /> КӀалишъэ – 100 boys (t͡ʃaːliʂa),<br /> Зы мафэ – one day (zə maːfa),<br /> МафитӀу – two days (maːfitʷʼ),<br /> Мафищы (мафищ) – three days (maːfiɕ).

Ordinal numbers

• Except апэрэ/япэрэ – first (aːpara/jaːpara) are formed by prefix я- (jaː-) and suffix – нэрэ (- nara). For example:

ятӀунэрэ – second (jaːtʷʼənara), ящынэрэ – third (jaːɕənara), яплӀынэрэ – fourth (jaːpɬʼənara).

first – япэрэ

second – ятӀунэрэ

third – ящынэрэ

fourth – яплӀынэрэ

firth – ятфынэрэ

sixth – яхынэрэ

seventh – яблынэрэ

eighth – яинэрэ

ninth – ябгъунэрэ

tenth – япшӀынэрэ

eleventh – япшӀыкӏузынэрэ

twelfth – япшӀыкӏутӏунэрэ

twenty th – ятӏокӏынэрэ

hundredth – яшъэнэрэ

Япэрэ мафэ – First day (jaːpara maːfa),<br /> ЯтӀонэрэ мафэ – second day (jaːtʷʼənara maːfa),<br /> ЯтӀонэрэ цуакъо – second shoe (jaːpara t͡ʃʷaːqʷa),<br /> Яхэнэрэ классым щегъэжьагъэу тутын сешъо~I have been smoking since the sixth class.

Discrete numbers

• Are formed by changing the last vowel ~ы (~ə) of number to ~эрэ (~ara):

о плӀэрэ къыосӀогъах – I have told you four times already.

• Number can also define measure of a share: Numbers "one" and "two" are formed by words псау (psaw) (whole, whole), ренэ (rena) (whole, whole about length of time), ныкъо (nəqÊ·a) (the half).

Fractional numbers

• Fractional numerals are formed from cardinal numerals with the help of the -(а)нэ /aːna/ morpheme:

щы /ɕə/ "three" – щанэ /ɕaːna/ "third",<br /> плӏы /pɬʼə/ "four" – плӏанэ /pɬʼaːna/ "fourth",<br /> хы "six" – ханэ /xaːna/ "sixth" and so on.

In a sentence: Чӏыгоу къытатыгъэм изыщанэ картоф хэдгъэтӏысхьа́гъ "On one third of the allocated land we have planted potatoes", Хатэм изыщанэ помидор хэдгъэтӀысхагъ- third part of vegetable garden we used for the tomatoes, Ахъщэ къыратыгъэм ыпӏланэ чыфэ ритыгъ – The quarter of the money he received, he lent.

half (1÷2) – ныкъо

one third (1÷3) – щанэ

two thirds (2÷3) – щанитӏу (1÷3 × 2)

one fourth (1÷4) – плӀанэ

two fourths (2÷4) – плӀанитӏу (1÷4 × 2)

three fourths (3÷4) – плӀанищ (1÷4 × 3)

one fifth (1÷5) – тфанэ

one sixth (1÷6) – ханэ

one seventh (1÷7) – бланэ

one eighth (1÷8) – янэ

one ninth (1÷9) – бгъуанэ

one tenth (1÷10) – пшӀанэ

one eleventh (1÷11) – пшӀыкӏузанэ

one twelfth (1÷12) – пшӀыкӏутӏуанэ

one twentieth (1÷20) – тӏокӏанэ

one hundredth (1÷100) – шъанэ

Separative numbers

• Separative numerals are formed by repetition of the appropriate cardinal numeral with the help of the morpheme -ры /-rə/:

зырыз /zərəz/ "by one",<br /> тӏурытӏу /tʷʼərətʷʼ/ "by twos",<br /> щырыщ /ɕərəɕ/ "by threes",<br /> плӏырыплӏ /pɬʼərəplʼ/ "by fours",<br /> тфырытф /tfərətf/ "by fives" and so on.

In a sentence: Еджакӏохэр экзаменым тӏурытӏоу чӏахьэщтыгъэх "Pupils entered the examination room by twos".

Approximate numbers

• Approximate numerals are formed as a combination of three cardinal numerals where the main constructive numeral is, usually, the numeral зы "one". for example

зыхыбл /zəxəbl/ зы-хы-бл "about six or seven",<br /> зытӏущ /zətʷʼəɕ/ зы-тӏу-щ "about two or three".

In a sentence: Непэ садэжь нэбгырэ зытӀущ къыӀухьагъ "About two or three people have approached me today".

References

Bibliography

• Аркадьев, П. М.; Ландер, Ю. А.; Летучий, А. Б.; Сумбатова, Н. Р.; Тестелец, Я. Г. Введение. Основные сведения об адыгейском языке в кн.: "Аспекты полисинтетизма: очерки по грамматике адыгейского языка" под ред.: П. М. Аркадьев, А. Б. Летучий, Н. Р. Сумбатова, Я. Г. Тестелец. Москва: РГГУ, 2009 (Arkadiev, P. M.; Lander, Yu. A.; Letuchiy, A. B.; Sumbatova, N. R.; Testelets, Ya. G.
• Introduction. Basic information about Adyghe language in "Aspects of polysyntheticity: studies on Adyghe grammar" edited by: P. M. Arkadiev, A. B. Letuchiy, N. R. Sumbatova, Ya. G. Testelets. Moscow, RGGU, 2009) (in Russian)
• Ranko Matasović, A Short Grammar of East Circassian (Kabardian): http://mudrac.ffzg.unizg.hr/~rmatasov/KabardianGrammar.pdf.
• Caucasus Studies 1 CIRCASSIAN Clause Structure Mukhadin Kumakhov & Karina Vamling

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External links

• Adyghe grammar – Introduction Useful site to learn Adyghe grammar
• Adyghe grammar – Detailed (in Russian)
• Adyghe grammar – Circassian language lessons online Another site to learn the Adyghe grammar